Investigating Suburban Environment by Means of Mental Maps: a Case Study of Olomouc Hinterland

# J. Biolek & I. Andráško Human Geographies – Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography Vol. 9, No. 1, May 2015 | www.humangeographies.org.ro ISSN-print: 1843–6587 | ISSN-online: 2067–2284

Investigating suburban environment by means of mental maps: a case study of Olomouc hinterland

Jaroslav Bioleka*, Ivan Andráškob

a Palacký University, Czech Republic b Masaryk University, Czech Republic

Suburbanization as a key process transforming the hinterland of cities has been researched by human geographers for a long time. The study of suburbanization involves the application of a wide spectrum of methods or analytic tools falling within the groups of quantitative, qualitative and combined approaches. One of the possibilities to study this process is mental mapping that we primarily use as an instrument for examining the character of suburban environment, its perception by local inhabitants, their experience of and relation to the place of living. The aim of this study is to look at the environment of the suburban municipalities in the hinterland of Olomouc by means of mental mapping. We use concrete examples of sketches to describe and interpret the outputs of perception of the researched suburban municipalities and their components by local inhabitants. Despite schematization, incompleteness or distortion, the results of the study prove that character of their mental maps mostly depends on how much time the inhabitants spend in their municipalities, whether they participate in the collective life or use a map of the municipality and what their relation to place of living is.

Key Words: Mental mapping, Suburbanization, Perception of residence, Hinterland of Olomouc, Czech Republic.

Article Info: Received: August 24, 2014; Revised: May 12, 2015; Accepted: May 20, 2015; Online: May 30, 2015.

Introduction

Suburbanization is mostly characterized as a main process transforming the character of landscape and the shape of municipalities in the hinterland of cities (e.g. Fishman 1989, Harris and Larkham 1999, EEA 2006, Couch et al. 2007). Gottdiener et al. (2006) point out that suburbs, in contrast to cities, are localities

* Corresponding author Address: Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic. Email: +420721460656 | [email protected]

©2015 Human Geographies; The authors DOI:10.5719/hgeo.2015.91.4 44 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 45 with a lower population density and prevailing residential character. According to Mental mapping in the research on urban environment Jackson (1985), the suburban sprawl is especially typical of land-use in the USA as an expression of their extensive colonisation and spatial expansion. However, the The method of mental mapping has been one of the fundamental human geograph- suburbanization has developed not only in the Northern America but from 1960s ical practices. Johnston (1971) argues that, in spite of all the potentialities and possibil- in Western Europe and from 1990s in Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) as well (see ities of its application, mental maps as a research method have especially long tradi- EEA 2006, Couch et al. 2007, Stanilov and Sýkora 2014). Nevertheless, the expan- tion in the investigation of the urban environment. At the beginning of 20th century sion of suburbs in Europe has been more regulated, less spatially extensive and the rst researchers such as Trowbridge (1913, in Naništová and Podlucká 1996) focused suburbs have emerged attached to some earlier built-up areas. Until 90s the their research on the spatial behaviour and sense of orientation of urban residents. development of the suburbanization in CEE countries was state-controlled and These pioneering investigations explored some aspects of the urban residents' suppressed, especially in Czechoslovakia (e.g. Ravbar 1997, Kok 1999, Suditu et al. mapping and their spatial perception (see Downs and Stea 1973, Gould and White 2010, Sýkora and Ouředníček 2001, Krisjane and Berzins 2012, Stanilov and 1986). However, instruments and methods of mental mapping were essentially Sýkora, 2014). The socio-economic transformation, higher incomes of the middle developed as a reaction to depersonalized spatial scientic approach by behavioural and humanistic geographers in 1960s (e.g. Cloke et al. 2004, Daněk 2013). class with accessible real-estate credits and mortgages enabled a boom of residential Although there exists neither comprehensive nor integrating denition of suburbanization in the Czech Republic (see Sýkora and Ouředníček 2001). mental mapping, these approaches, concepts and methods are usually related to Galčanová and Vacková (2008) also show how deteriorating quality of life in the the understanding of spatial perception and cognition process. In accordance with Czech cities and, on the other hand, attractivity of the suburban hinterland Knox and Pinch (2010, p. 225), catalysed the suburban development. The suburbanization process in CEE has been investigated by various geo- “(…) cognition and perception are associated with images, inner representations, mental graphical research approaches (see EEA 2006, Couch et al. 2007, Suditu et al. 2010, maps and schemata that are result of processes in which personal experiences and values Stanilov and Sýkora 2014, in the Czech Republic see Ouředníček 2013). A statisti- are used to lter the barrage of environmental stimuli to which brain is subjected, cal analysis of migration or change of land use has been applied to prove dynamic allowing the mind to work with a partial, simplied (and often distorted) version of development or spatial distribution of suburbanization (see e.g. Ravbar 1997, Kok reality”. 1999, Sýkora and Ouředníček 2001, Krisjane and Berzins 2012, Šveda 2011). For instance, Romportl and Chuman (2013) demonstrated by GIS that in period 1990 In these circumstances mental mapping is a complex process starting with – 2006 the suburban built-up area in the Czech Republic increased by about 246 sensual perception of the place, its transformation and keeping in synaptic struc- square kilometers. These analyses have been complemented by case studies, tures of the brain and ending with the translation of images of that place into a investigating aspects of quality of life, spatial behaviour or geographical separation schematic graphic or cartographic record (Billinge 1986). Therefore, mental map in the suburban municipalities, in which rather mixed-method approaches and is not considered to be just a translation of a place from memory to paper but rather qualitative methods (questionnaires, interviews or observations) have been used a complex phenomenon of acquiring, coding, keeping, renewing and decoding of (see e.g. Puldová and Ouředníček , 2006, Potočný 2006, Biolek and Andráško 2012, information about localization and attributes of the phenomena in the environment (Stokols 1978). Šveda and Šuška 2014). As Galčanová (2013) accentuates the importance of It is necessary to stress that process of mental mapping can be grasped at two narratives in the production of the social environment of Czech and Slovak levels. Firstly as a complex psychological process of a person by means of which she suburbs, the suburbanization has changed not only a physical form of the suburban or he perceives the space around, gets to know the places and reacts with the municipalities but also their cognition and perception as well as behaviour of both surrounding environment and secondly as a scientic investigation of this denizens and new residents. In this way mental maps represent a suitable, though interaction. We can also understand the mental map both in terms of mental marginalized and sporadically applied (e.g. Johnston 1971) instrument for representation of spatial reality and in the form of a graphical output of a scientic analysing the character of the suburban environment, its perception and relation method (map, picture, scheme, sketch etc.). Mental maps thus represent geo- to this place of living. graphical instrument through which we obtain various information about a The aim of this study is to look at the suburban environment by means of mental person, her or his spatial perception, knowledge and behaviour and also character- mapping. Firstly we deal with the comprehension and development of mental istics of places where this person lives and to which she or he has a certain emotional maps as a research method of the urban environment. Consequently, after speci- relation (see e.g. Downs and Stea 1973, Tuan 1975, Gould and White 1986, cation of the study area and selected methods, the results from our mental mapping Golledge and Stimson 1997, Siwek 2011) as we illustrate below. investigation of Czech suburbs are presented. Therefore, we describe and discuss The key breakthrough in mental mapping occurred with Lynch's concept of the outputs of perception of the researched suburban municipalities and their imageability applied in the research on cities. Kevin Lynch (1960) paid a signicant components by local inhabitants. In conclusion some methodological potentialities attention to visual attributes of the urban environment and their legibility and as well as drawbacks of such approach in the suburban environment are outlined. understandability for city inhabitants. Using sketch maps and verbal description of 44 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 45 with a lower population density and prevailing residential character. According to Mental mapping in the research on urban environment Jackson (1985), the suburban sprawl is especially typical of land-use in the USA as an expression of their extensive colonisation and spatial expansion. However, the The method of mental mapping has been one of the fundamental human geograph- suburbanization has developed not only in the Northern America but from 1960s ical practices. Johnston (1971) argues that, in spite of all the potentialities and possibil- in Western Europe and from 1990s in Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) as well (see ities of its application, mental maps as a research method have especially long tradi- EEA 2006, Couch et al. 2007, Stanilov and Sýkora 2014). Nevertheless, the expan- tion in the investigation of the urban environment. At the beginning of 20th century sion of suburbs in Europe has been more regulated, less spatially extensive and the rst researchers such as Trowbridge (1913, in Naništová and Podlucká 1996) focused suburbs have emerged attached to some earlier built-up areas. Until 90s the their research on the spatial behaviour and sense of orientation of urban residents. development of the suburbanization in CEE countries was state-controlled and These pioneering investigations explored some aspects of the urban residents' suppressed, especially in Czechoslovakia (e.g. Ravbar 1997, Kok 1999, Suditu et al. mapping and their spatial perception (see Downs and Stea 1973, Gould and White 2010, Sýkora and Ouředníček 2001, Krisjane and Berzins 2012, Stanilov and 1986). However, instruments and methods of mental mapping were essentially Sýkora, 2014). The socio-economic transformation, higher incomes of the middle developed as a reaction to depersonalized spatial scientic approach by behavioural and humanistic geographers in 1960s (e.g. Cloke et al. 2004, Daněk 2013). class with accessible real-estate credits and mortgages enabled a boom of residential Although there exists neither comprehensive nor integrating denition of suburbanization in the Czech Republic (see Sýkora and Ouředníček 2001). mental mapping, these approaches, concepts and methods are usually related to Galčanová and Vacková (2008) also show how deteriorating quality of life in the the understanding of spatial perception and cognition process. In accordance with Czech cities and, on the other hand, attractivity of the suburban hinterland Knox and Pinch (2010, p. 225), catalysed the suburban development. The suburbanization process in CEE has been investigated by various geo- “(…) cognition and perception are associated with images, inner representations, mental graphical research approaches (see EEA 2006, Couch et al. 2007, Suditu et al. 2010, maps and schemata that are result of processes in which personal experiences and values Stanilov and Sýkora 2014, in the Czech Republic see Ouředníček 2013). A statisti- are used to lter the barrage of environmental stimuli to which brain is subjected, cal analysis of migration or change of land use has been applied to prove dynamic allowing the mind to work with a partial, simplied (and often distorted) version of development or spatial distribution of suburbanization (see e.g. Ravbar 1997, Kok reality”. 1999, Sýkora and Ouředníček 2001, Krisjane and Berzins 2012, Šveda 2011). For instance, Romportl and Chuman (2013) demonstrated by GIS that in period 1990 In these circumstances mental mapping is a complex process starting with – 2006 the suburban built-up area in the Czech Republic increased by about 246 sensual perception of the place, its transformation and keeping in synaptic struc- square kilometers. These analyses have been complemented by case studies, tures of the brain and ending with the translation of images of that place into a investigating aspects of quality of life, spatial behaviour or geographical separation schematic graphic or cartographic record (Billinge 1986). Therefore, mental map in the suburban municipalities, in which rather mixed-method approaches and is not considered to be just a translation of a place from memory to paper but rather qualitative methods (questionnaires, interviews or observations) have been used a complex phenomenon of acquiring, coding, keeping, renewing and decoding of (see e.g. Puldová and Ouředníček , 2006, Potočný 2006, Biolek and Andráško 2012, information about localization and attributes of the phenomena in the environment (Stokols 1978). Šveda and Šuška 2014). As Galčanová (2013) accentuates the importance of It is necessary to stress that process of mental mapping can be grasped at two narratives in the production of the social environment of Czech and Slovak levels. Firstly as a complex psychological process of a person by means of which she suburbs, the suburbanization has changed not only a physical form of the suburban or he perceives the space around, gets to know the places and reacts with the municipalities but also their cognition and perception as well as behaviour of both surrounding environment and secondly as a scientic investigation of this denizens and new residents. In this way mental maps represent a suitable, though interaction. We can also understand the mental map both in terms of mental marginalized and sporadically applied (e.g. Johnston 1971) instrument for representation of spatial reality and in the form of a graphical output of a scientic analysing the character of the suburban environment, its perception and relation method (map, picture, scheme, sketch etc.). Mental maps thus represent geo- to this place of living. graphical instrument through which we obtain various information about a The aim of this study is to look at the suburban environment by means of mental person, her or his spatial perception, knowledge and behaviour and also character- mapping. Firstly we deal with the comprehension and development of mental istics of places where this person lives and to which she or he has a certain emotional maps as a research method of the urban environment. Consequently, after speci- relation (see e.g. Downs and Stea 1973, Tuan 1975, Gould and White 1986, cation of the study area and selected methods, the results from our mental mapping Golledge and Stimson 1997, Siwek 2011) as we illustrate below. investigation of Czech suburbs are presented. Therefore, we describe and discuss The key breakthrough in mental mapping occurred with Lynch's concept of the outputs of perception of the researched suburban municipalities and their imageability applied in the research on cities. Kevin Lynch (1960) paid a signicant components by local inhabitants. In conclusion some methodological potentialities attention to visual attributes of the urban environment and their legibility and as well as drawbacks of such approach in the suburban environment are outlined. understandability for city inhabitants. Using sketch maps and verbal description of 46 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 47 places in the cities he developed a methodology how to study the perception of urban Study area environment and also a classication system of urban elements (paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks). Although this kind of geographical analysis and description The municipalities Hlušovice, Dolany, Křelov-Břuchotín and Velký Týnec are has been criticized, for instance for its intuitive approach to the identication of image located in the hinterland of Moravian regional centre Olomouc, in the eastern part elements, it has been broadly used for the interpretation of visual, aesthetic and of the Czech Republic (Figure 1). They were chosen on the basis of results of the functional properties of places not only in the cities (Knox and Pinch 2010). previous quantitative research and pre-research observation. As you can see in the Three dominant ways of perception in the interaction between person and Tabele 1, these municipalities from Olomouc District (AD MEP Olomouc) show the environment were distinguished by Donald Appleyard (1973). Operative percep- highest net migration rate as well as index of population growth. However, the pre- tion of elements is based on active, performative actions of people and the use of research showed that previous place of residence of newcomers is not only Olomouc city, while responsive perception is more 'passive' form of perception. It does not but also Přerov, Prostějov, Hranice na Moravě or other municipalities in this area only react to visual stimuli but also to sounds, smells and other forms of tactile (Biolek and Andráško, 2012). They also represent various types of suburban experience in urban environment. The third form is inferential perception environment with different residential structure and form as well as demographic inuenced by a generalized system of environmental categories, concepts and and socio-economic characteristics. relations that we consciously code during the recognition of the city. These forms of In Hlušovice, with the highest net migration rate, there live even more newcom- perception are projected into graphic outputs of mental maps by appearance and ers than denizens (living more than 10 years in the municipality). Most houses were localization of some features, or by way of drawing. Beside this comprehension, built in the form of terraced houses in the new housing estate. Křelov-Břuchotín, the Downs and Stea (1973) focused more on cognitive aspects affecting the character of closest municipality to Olomouc, represents the most typical example of mental maps. In their opinion, mental mapping is characterised by a selective suburbanization with new houses around the old built-up area. In Dolany the cognitive process during the depiction of mental representation of the researched residential suburbanization started uncontrollably in the middle of 90s, while in environment. They came to the conclusion that mental maps are characterized by Hlušovice and Křelov-Břuchotín at the beginning of the millennium. Dolany and their incompleteness, distortion, schematization and augmentation as we prove by Křelov-Břuchotín could only regulate the building process with great difculties, examples of researched mental maps. While these approaches dealt with the designative aspects of the urban environ- because there were no land-use plans at the beginning of the construction. In both ment and its research, humanistic geography has been more oriented on the municipalities there are usually single-family detached houses with high fences. In relation of a person to the urban environment and its appraisal (see Knox and most cases the sale of building plots and subsequent construction were initiated by Pinch 2010). In that conception mental mapping has been inspired by the owners of the plots and by the builders and the construction works were not phenomenological scientic approach and its aim has been to understand the meanings of spatial elements (e.g. the emotional sense of place) that people attrib- ute to them. Rather than a map, the output of mental mapping is a schema of places a person comes into contact with and to which he or she builds a certain relationship (Tuan 1975). The outputs of studies in the eld of humanistic geography also outlined the importance of psychogeographical aspects such as territoriality, stigmatization, emotional relationship to home place or gender and other specic social group patterns and peculiarities (e.g. Ley 1974, Tuan 1974, McDowell 1992). The cultural turn in geography of 1990s and criticism of the humanistic geography conception opened a space for other feminist, post-structuralist and psychogeographical approaches in mental mapping (see Cloke et al. 2004). These debates also revived thinking about the character of mental mapping process and representation of perceived space (see Mulíček, Osman and Seidenglanz 2013). Although some investigations have continued in the tradition of mental, behavioural or humanistic geography (e.g. Ciobanu 2008, Vacková, Galčanová and Osman 2011), there have appeared new perspectives of participatory action or art- based research (see Pinder 2005, Hawkins 2011, Biolek and Andráško 2013). Mental mapping methods have been also inuenced by situationist practice of the performative walking through the city as Hancox (2012) illustrated. To conclude this chapter, all the above mentioned urban research approaches serve us as a guide or perspectives for mental mapping research on the suburban environment. Figure 1. Location of the researched municipalities (source: authors) 46 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 47 places in the cities he developed a methodology how to study the perception of urban Study area environment and also a classication system of urban elements (paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks). Although this kind of geographical analysis and description The municipalities Hlušovice, Dolany, Křelov-Břuchotín and Velký Týnec are has been criticized, for instance for its intuitive approach to the identication of image located in the hinterland of Moravian regional centre Olomouc, in the eastern part elements, it has been broadly used for the interpretation of visual, aesthetic and of the Czech Republic (Figure 1). They were chosen on the basis of results of the functional properties of places not only in the cities (Knox and Pinch 2010). previous quantitative research and pre-research observation. As you can see in the Three dominant ways of perception in the interaction between person and Tabele 1, these municipalities from Olomouc District (AD MEP Olomouc) show the environment were distinguished by Donald Appleyard (1973). Operative percep- highest net migration rate as well as index of population growth. However, the pre- tion of elements is based on active, performative actions of people and the use of research showed that previous place of residence of newcomers is not only Olomouc city, while responsive perception is more 'passive' form of perception. It does not but also Přerov, Prostějov, Hranice na Moravě or other municipalities in this area only react to visual stimuli but also to sounds, smells and other forms of tactile (Biolek and Andráško, 2012). They also represent various types of suburban experience in urban environment. The third form is inferential perception environment with different residential structure and form as well as demographic inuenced by a generalized system of environmental categories, concepts and and socio-economic characteristics. relations that we consciously code during the recognition of the city. These forms of In Hlušovice, with the highest net migration rate, there live even more newcom- perception are projected into graphic outputs of mental maps by appearance and ers than denizens (living more than 10 years in the municipality). Most houses were localization of some features, or by way of drawing. Beside this comprehension, built in the form of terraced houses in the new housing estate. Křelov-Břuchotín, the Downs and Stea (1973) focused more on cognitive aspects affecting the character of closest municipality to Olomouc, represents the most typical example of mental maps. In their opinion, mental mapping is characterised by a selective suburbanization with new houses around the old built-up area. In Dolany the cognitive process during the depiction of mental representation of the researched residential suburbanization started uncontrollably in the middle of 90s, while in environment. They came to the conclusion that mental maps are characterized by Hlušovice and Křelov-Břuchotín at the beginning of the millennium. Dolany and their incompleteness, distortion, schematization and augmentation as we prove by Křelov-Břuchotín could only regulate the building process with great difculties, examples of researched mental maps. While these approaches dealt with the designative aspects of the urban environ- because there were no land-use plans at the beginning of the construction. In both ment and its research, humanistic geography has been more oriented on the municipalities there are usually single-family detached houses with high fences. In relation of a person to the urban environment and its appraisal (see Knox and most cases the sale of building plots and subsequent construction were initiated by Pinch 2010). In that conception mental mapping has been inspired by the owners of the plots and by the builders and the construction works were not phenomenological scientic approach and its aim has been to understand the meanings of spatial elements (e.g. the emotional sense of place) that people attrib- ute to them. Rather than a map, the output of mental mapping is a schema of places a person comes into contact with and to which he or she builds a certain relationship (Tuan 1975). The outputs of studies in the eld of humanistic geography also outlined the importance of psychogeographical aspects such as territoriality, stigmatization, emotional relationship to home place or gender and other specic social group patterns and peculiarities (e.g. Ley 1974, Tuan 1974, McDowell 1992). The cultural turn in geography of 1990s and criticism of the humanistic geography conception opened a space for other feminist, post-structuralist and psychogeographical approaches in mental mapping (see Cloke et al. 2004). These debates also revived thinking about the character of mental mapping process and representation of perceived space (see Mulíček, Osman and Seidenglanz 2013). Although some investigations have continued in the tradition of mental, behavioural or humanistic geography (e.g. Ciobanu 2008, Vacková, Galčanová and Osman 2011), there have appeared new perspectives of participatory action or art- based research (see Pinder 2005, Hawkins 2011, Biolek and Andráško 2013). Mental mapping methods have been also inuenced by situationist practice of the performative walking through the city as Hancox (2012) illustrated. To conclude this chapter, all the above mentioned urban research approaches serve us as a guide or perspectives for mental mapping research on the suburban environment. Figure 1. Location of the researched municipalities (source: authors) 48 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 49

Table 1. Change of population and net migration in the municipalities of Olomouc coordinated. On the contrary, Velký Týnec was affected by suburban development District (2003-2012) only in last ve years and the construction was initiated and mostly regulated by

Municipality Population Index of Total net migration Net migration rate municipality. 31/12/2012 population per 100 inhabitants growth* 2003- 2008- 2003- 2003- 2008- 2003- 2007 2012 2012 2007 2012 2012 Research method Hlušovice 800 216,8 197 189 386 86,4 51,1 64,5 Bystrovany 1030 141,3 128 97 225 31,8 19,6 25,1 Bukovany 610 139,6 122 48 170 49,3 16,3 31,4 The mental mapping approach was chosen in order to look at the suburbanization Hnvotín 1672 139,2 170 262 432 26,6 34,4 30,9 process from the perspective of the local residents and their perception. Our Velký Týnec 2749 127,9 140 394 534 12,7 31,0 22,5 approach is inuenced by qualitative and inductive research design, therefore, it Bystrocice 729 123,1 46 82 128 15,1 23,3 19,5 gives wider possibilities to informant and it does not set any constraints as what to Dolany 2593 119,9 299 165 464 26,2 13,0 19,3 Velký Újezd 1253 117,3 113 64 177 20,4 10,2 15,0 draw. It does not limit informant's imagination and creativity. On the other hand, it Samotišky 1323 116,4 103 42 145 17,3 6,5 11,7 makes the subsequent evaluation and interpretation more difcult because such Kelov- 1636 116,2 90 132 222 12,5 16,8 14,8 mental map depicts different spatial elements and dimensions which makes Buchotín comparison almost impossible. It is also necessary to understand the context in Blkovice- 2176 114,0 94 123 217 9,5 11,6 10,6 Lašany which the informant sketches, what his or her relation to the place is, what his or Tové 581 113,7 72 10 82 26,8 3,5 14,8 her drawing abilities are. Ústín 400 113,3 10 13 23 5,5 6,7 6,1 The investigation was conducted by trained researchers in August 2012. We did Horka nad 2342 111,5 121 35 156 11,2 3,1 7,0 interviews and initiated sketching of mental maps with inhabitants of four munici- Moravou Skrbe 1203 111,3 102 20 122 18,2 3,4 10,6 palities (Hlušovice, Velký Týnec, Křelov-Břuchotín, Dolany). The informants were Charváty 855 111,2 68 8 76 16,9 1,9 9,2 asked to sketch out the municipality, the place of living and important elements in Mrsklesy 619 111,1 17 31 48 6,0 10,5 8,3 the spatial context of the municipality. During the creation of mental maps addi- Tł etice 1337 110,3 55 62 117 8,9 9,5 9,2 tional questions were asked about the selection of elements and their meaning Suchonice 178 109,9 8 0 8 9,5 0,0 4,7 Doloplazy 1356 109,8 40 33 73 6,3 5,0 5,6 within their lives, about the character and scale of mental map, perception of social- Lubnice 449 109,0 -5 30 25 -2,5 14,0 6,0 spatial barriers and other attributes as well as about their age, social status, immi- Majetín 1179 108,5 41 76 117 7,5 13,4 10,5 gration to their place of living etc. Due to the character of mental mapping research Svésedlice 186 108,1 5 6 11 5,8 6,5 6,2 and the willingness of informants to draw, 25 mental maps and related interviews Námł na 2024 108,1 138 127 265 14,5 12,7 13,6 Hané from 4 municipalities were realized. These 25 informants were both denizens and Vrovany 1409 107,9 31 37 68 4,7 5,4 5,0 new residents, men and women, youngsters, adults as well as seniors. After the eld Blatec 623 107,6 18 16 34 6,2 5,2 5,7 research the information from the sketches was deciphered, operationalized and Liboš 619 106,9 16 31 47 5,4 10,1 7,8 sorted. We concentrated on the appeared important elements, the meanings Bohuovice 2555 106,9 92 37 129 7,5 2,9 5,2 people attributed to them and other associations with their place of living. Finally, Velká 3099 106,4 129 75 204 8,8 4,9 6,9 Bystice they were compared with the results of interviews in the context of informants' Grygov 1469 106,1 36 31 67 5,2 4,3 4,7 characteristics (age, gender, place of living and other social-geographic attributes). Páslavice 1364 105,7 37 10 47 5,7 1,5 3,5 Dub nad 1569 105,7 80 -46 34 10,5 -5,9 2,2 Moravou Slatinice 1537 105,5 47 66 113 6,4 8,7 7,6 Results and discussion Tršice 1635 104,9 37 10 47 4,7 1,2 2,9 Píkazy 1267 103,5 5 33 38 0,8 5,4 3,1 The character of mental mapping without strict instructions primarily inuenced Štpánov 3412 103,1 34 23 57 2,0 1,4 1,7 the formal aspect of created maps, their character or distortion rate and schemati- Loucany 641 102,7 33 7 40 10,4 2,2 6,3 Krcma 466 102,6 -3 16 13 -1,3 6,9 2,8 zation. Table 2 sums up the outputs and key points of the mental maps made by all Kožušany- the informants. There one can nd the informant's characteristics, appearance of 847 102,3 10 -12 -2 2,4 -2,8 -0,2 Tážaly some signicant elements (landmarks), boundaries between old and new built-up Lutín 3249 101,7 -14 -12 -26 -0,9 -0,7 -0,8 districts, way of sketching, distortion rate or other specics of the mental maps Daskabát 587 99,7 11 1 12 3,7 0,3 2,0 analyzed by the above-mentioned mental mapping approaches.These information Drahanovice 1685 99,2 8 22 30 0,9 2,6 1,8 Olomouc 99471 98,2 -1537 -1118 -2655 -3,1 -2,2 -2,6 are further elaborated on the following paragraphs with an emphasis on the Hlubocky 4306 96,8 -62 -79 -141 -2,8 -3,6 -3,2 suburban environment and its distinctivity. In Figures 2, 3, 4 there are examples of Libavá 1046 86,2 -62 -113 -175 -10,5 -20,5 -15,4 the mental maps made by informants from suburban municipalities. In these Source: Czech Statistical Office) *2003-2012 (2003 – 100% 48 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 49

Municipality Population Index of Total net migration Net migration rate municipality. 31/12/2012 population per 100 inhabitants growth* 2003- 2008- 2003- 2003- 2008- 2003- 2007 2012 2012 2007 2012 2012 Research method Hlušovice 800 216,8 197 189 386 86,4 51,1 64,5 Bystrovany 1030 141,3 128 97 225 31,8 19,6 25,1 Bukovany 610 139,6 122 48 170 49,3 16,3 31,4 The mental mapping approach was chosen in order to look at the suburbanization Hnvotín 1672 139,2 170 262 432 26,6 34,4 30,9 process from the perspective of the local residents and their perception. Our Velký Týnec 2749 127,9 140 394 534 12,7 31,0 22,5 approach is inuenced by qualitative and inductive research design, therefore, it Bystrocice 729 123,1 46 82 128 15,1 23,3 19,5 gives wider possibilities to informant and it does not set any constraints as what to Dolany 2593 119,9 299 165 464 26,2 13,0 19,3 Velký Újezd 1253 117,3 113 64 177 20,4 10,2 15,0 draw. It does not limit informant's imagination and creativity. On the other hand, it Samotišky 1323 116,4 103 42 145 17,3 6,5 11,7 makes the subsequent evaluation and interpretation more difcult because such Kelov- 1636 116,2 90 132 222 12,5 16,8 14,8 mental map depicts different spatial elements and dimensions which makes Buchotín comparison almost impossible. It is also necessary to understand the context in Blkovice- 2176 114,0 94 123 217 9,5 11,6 10,6 Lašany which the informant sketches, what his or her relation to the place is, what his or Tové 581 113,7 72 10 82 26,8 3,5 14,8 her drawing abilities are. Ústín 400 113,3 10 13 23 5,5 6,7 6,1 The investigation was conducted by trained researchers in August 2012. We did Horka nad 2342 111,5 121 35 156 11,2 3,1 7,0 interviews and initiated sketching of mental maps with inhabitants of four munici- Moravou Skrbe 1203 111,3 102 20 122 18,2 3,4 10,6 palities (Hlušovice, Velký Týnec, Křelov-Břuchotín, Dolany). The informants were Charváty 855 111,2 68 8 76 16,9 1,9 9,2 asked to sketch out the municipality, the place of living and important elements in Mrsklesy 619 111,1 17 31 48 6,0 10,5 8,3 the spatial context of the municipality. During the creation of mental maps addi- Tł etice 1337 110,3 55 62 117 8,9 9,5 9,2 tional questions were asked about the selection of elements and their meaning Suchonice 178 109,9 8 0 8 9,5 0,0 4,7 Doloplazy 1356 109,8 40 33 73 6,3 5,0 5,6 within their lives, about the character and scale of mental map, perception of social- Lubnice 449 109,0 -5 30 25 -2,5 14,0 6,0 spatial barriers and other attributes as well as about their age, social status, immi- Majetín 1179 108,5 41 76 117 7,5 13,4 10,5 gration to their place of living etc. Due to the character of mental mapping research Svésedlice 186 108,1 5 6 11 5,8 6,5 6,2 and the willingness of informants to draw, 25 mental maps and related interviews Námł na 2024 108,1 138 127 265 14,5 12,7 13,6 Hané from 4 municipalities were realized. These 25 informants were both denizens and Vrovany 1409 107,9 31 37 68 4,7 5,4 5,0 new residents, men and women, youngsters, adults as well as seniors. After the eld Blatec 623 107,6 18 16 34 6,2 5,2 5,7 research the information from the sketches was deciphered, operationalized and Liboš 619 106,9 16 31 47 5,4 10,1 7,8 sorted. We concentrated on the appeared important elements, the meanings Bohuovice 2555 106,9 92 37 129 7,5 2,9 5,2 people attributed to them and other associations with their place of living. Finally, Velká 3099 106,4 129 75 204 8,8 4,9 6,9 Bystice they were compared with the results of interviews in the context of informants' Grygov 1469 106,1 36 31 67 5,2 4,3 4,7 characteristics (age, gender, place of living and other social-geographic attributes). Páslavice 1364 105,7 37 10 47 5,7 1,5 3,5 Dub nad 1569 105,7 80 -46 34 10,5 -5,9 2,2 Moravou Slatinice 1537 105,5 47 66 113 6,4 8,7 7,6 Results and discussion Tršice 1635 104,9 37 10 47 4,7 1,2 2,9 Píkazy 1267 103,5 5 33 38 0,8 5,4 3,1 The character of mental mapping without strict instructions primarily inuenced Štpánov 3412 103,1 34 23 57 2,0 1,4 1,7 the formal aspect of created maps, their character or distortion rate and schemati- Loucany 641 102,7 33 7 40 10,4 2,2 6,3 Krcma 466 102,6 -3 16 13 -1,3 6,9 2,8 zation. Table 2 sums up the outputs and key points of the mental maps made by all Kožušany- the informants. There one can nd the informant's characteristics, appearance of 847 102,3 10 -12 -2 2,4 -2,8 -0,2 Tážaly some signicant elements (landmarks), boundaries between old and new built-up Lutín 3249 101,7 -14 -12 -26 -0,9 -0,7 -0,8 districts, way of sketching, distortion rate or other specics of the mental maps Daskabát 587 99,7 11 1 12 3,7 0,3 2,0 analyzed by the above-mentioned mental mapping approaches.These information Drahanovice 1685 99,2 8 22 30 0,9 2,6 1,8 Olomouc 99471 98,2 -1537 -1118 -2655 -3,1 -2,2 -2,6 are further elaborated on the following paragraphs with an emphasis on the Hlubocky 4306 96,8 -62 -79 -141 -2,8 -3,6 -3,2 suburban environment and its distinctivity. In Figures 2, 3, 4 there are examples of Libavá 1046 86,2 -62 -113 -175 -10,5 -20,5 -15,4 the mental maps made by informants from suburban municipalities. In these Source: Czech Statistical Office) *2003-2012 (2003 – 100% 50 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 51

Table 2. Informant's characteristics, appearance of the signicant elements and boundaries in the mental maps, way of sketching, distortion and other specics Informant's characteristics Elements in mental maps Character of mental maps ID Gende Place of Denizen Landmarks Boundarie Way of Distortio Other rage living / New s (number sketching n specifics resident of districts) 1 M 41 Velký N office no spatial, strong - Týnec schema 2 F 33 Velký N office, school, yes (2) sequential, low - Týnec church, map cinema 3 F 38 Velký D school, church, no spatial, medium - Týnec chateau picture 4 F 49 Velký D office, school, yes (2) sequential, low - Týnec church, shop schema 5 M 55 Velký D office, school, yes (2) sequential, medium - Týnec chateau, pitch schema 6 F 32 Dolany N square, school, no spatial, medium - church, schema kindergarten 7 M 65 Dolany N square, office, yes (2) spatial, map low - post office, school 8 F 38 Dolany N - no picture - picture of house 9 M 53 Dolany N square, office, no sequential, low - shop, pub map Figure 2. Mental map made by a 19-year-old man, newcomer from Hlušovice 10 M 53 Dolany D roundabout, yes (2) spatial, medium - school, pitch, schema church 11 F 61 Dolany D roundabout, no sequential, strong - church schema 12 F 73 Dolany D office, church yes (2) sequential, medium - schema 13 M 26 Dolany D roundabout, yes (2) sequential, low - shop, post map office, church 14 M 48 Dolany D roundabout, yes (2) sequential, low - office, church, schema bus stop 15 M 48 Dolany D roundabout, yes (2) sequential, low - office, church, schema bus stop 16 F 33 Hlušovice N office, pub, yes (3) sequential, low - Figure 3. Mental map made by a 46-year- Figure 4. Mental map made by 33-year- culture club, schema old man, denizen from Krelov-Bruchotín old woman, newcomer from Hlušovice kindergarten 17 M 19 Hlušovice N railway station, no spatial, medium - pub, pitch, picture gures we can demonstrate the results and crucial ndings as well. Firstly, we may church observe different types of illustration on the scale from pictures and sketches 18 F 50 Hlušovice N railway station no sequential, medium - schema through schemas and descriptions up to maps and plans. While some informants 19 F 12 Hlušovice N kindergarten no picture - picture of approached to mental mapping as plain drawing and they drew their house, house and railway station or a pub as realistically as possible, not respecting the scale much kindergarten 20 F 71 Hlušovice D railway station, yes (2) sequential, low - (Figure 2), others tried to include all the important elements paying attention to church, shop schema the spatial context (Figure 3), but mostly only as points with descriptions (Figure 4). 21 M 69 Hlušovice D railway station, yes (2) sequential, medium - Thus, most of the informants sketched the components in the mental maps either office schema 22 F 44 Kelov – N school, shop, yes (2) sequential, medium - in the form of schemas or they simply marked them by writing, just because they Buchotín church schema did not want to spend more time drawing. 23 F 29 Kelov – N - yes (2) schema - two circles Buchotín Nevertheless, most of the analysed mental maps include similar elements of 24 M 46 Kelov – D office, church, yes (3) spatial, low - infrastructure and public facilities. Informants from all the municipalities, both Buchotín pub schema denizens and new immigrants, mostly depicted their houses, municipal ofce, 25 M 56 Kelov – D office, church, no sequential, medium - Buchotín school, pitch schema church, pub, shop, football pitch, bus stop, post ofce or kindergarten, and

50 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 51

52 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 53 eventually primary school (in Dolany and Velký Týnec), roundabout or square (in with land-use plan, so he views the municipality from a wider perspective. Dolany), railway station (in Hlušovice), or chateau and cinema (in Velký Týnec). According to his answer he also actively participated in the collective life in the According to Lynch's conception (1960), these components are dominants which municipality. Another 19-year-old man from Hlušovice, even though immigrated make the suburban space more legible for the local inhabitants and contribute to there 6 years ago, was integrated in the collective life in the municipality as well. He produce the “image” of the suburban municipality. The partial elements of the spent a lot of time in Hlušovice and knew its places very well, because he played mental maps are then connected by paths – roads that served to the informants as a football for the local club, as you can see in Figure 2. Therefore, the ability to use means of navigation owing to which they were able to localise point elements in the the scale properly can be one of the signs of knowledge of this environment and map. There are some important nodes (like roundabout in Dolany) that help active involvement (operative perception, see Appleyard 1974), however, the people to orientate themselves in the process of sketching mental map too. character of mental maps can be inuenced by the relation to the municipality and The creation of the mental maps usually began in the middle of the municipality place of living (topophilia, see Tuan 1974). (e.g. starting with the village square, municipal ofce building, church or round- Mental mapping in the selected suburban municipalities put an emphasis on about) or from their own house and then it was further drawn along the roads. delineation of the barriers between formerly built-up area and new residential According to Appleyard (1973) that was sequential mental mapping rather than neighbourhoods. One of the analysed mental maps specically concentrates on spatial, however, with an emphasis on positional placing of important elements. the spatial relation between the old and new part of the municipality. There is a Thus, after the rst picture or schema of their house or landmark in the centre of perception of the suburb surrounding the old built-up area of the municipality. suburban municipality, the informants usually sketched the roads and then Although other informants often depicted suburb as a specic district of the localized the other important spatial components into the mental maps. As regards municipality (especially in Dolany and Křelov-Břuchotín), they did not explicitly the importance of depicted elements in the eyes of local inhabitants, the outputs of speak about spatial separation, however, underlining neither barriers nor bound- the additional questions show the informants perceive the elements of infrastruc- aries. It means that social-spatial barriers between both parts of suburban munici- ture and public facilities of the municipality to be important for their everyday palities exist but they are not so signicant and often articially created in the eyes lives. Although, according to interviews, they do not often go shopping in the local of local inhabitants. shop or they do not use local railway station to go by train, these elements play an The suburbanization process in the hinterland of Olomouc has not been so important role in the spatial orientation. However, there are some elements or dynamically developed like in the surroundings of more populated cities (like areas in the mental maps which function as both navigation points as well as Prague or Brno hinterland in the Czech Republic). The various social- community interaction elds where the people really meet with each other such as demographic and geographic background of new residents also wipes out the the village square (see e.g. Galčanová and Vacková 2008). differences in the perception of suburbs which can be seen in more typical cases of By comparing the sketches to real maps of the municipalities we can also prove the residential suburbanisation (with signs of gated communities or another that informants, both denizens and new residents, are well acquainted with the spatial separation). The mental maps also show that most informants perceive space in their municipality and with its landmarks. Although these mental maps are their house, place of living or, generally, 'social-geographical environment' as distorted and incomplete (see Downs and Stea 1973), they show solid geographical important. They consider suburban municipalities suitable for the upbringing of knowledge and spatial orientation of the informants. The informants had the children and the possibility to spend time outdoors as a relevant factor for their biggest problem with the accuracy of distances and scale, especially in the larger quality of life. Nevertheless, the interpretation of social-spatial dynamics of the municipalities. In total 25 mental maps there are only a few specic cases which suburban municipalities through mental mapping is more difcult. It would be show insufcient spatial knowledge of newcomers. On the contrary, in some cases better to evaluate and reect this process using the same methods after a few years, (e.g. in Hlušovice) the new residents knew the spatial disposition of the whole because then, for instance, we can compare the transformation of the new resi- municipality even better than the denizens, because of their lack of interest to visit dents' relationship to their place of living, their sense of orientation etc. new neighbourhoods that only have residential function. The outputs also proved there is no statistically signicant difference in the way of perception and sketching of mental maps according to gender, age, or social status. There are only a few cases Conclusion of differences in which, for instance, some women depicted kindergartens or clubs for young women and, on the other hand, some men sketched the football pitches The primary aim of the article was to look at the suburban environment by means which were not located in women's mental maps (e.g. McDowell 1992). of mental mapping and, secondarily, to present the results from mental maps However, some mental maps show anomalies. For example, just a simple sketched in suburban municipalities in the hinterland of Olomouc. In order to picture of a house is the most specic one in which the informant who does not analyse spatial attributes of the suburban municipalities and to interpret their spend time in the municipality suggestively depicted her limited spatial knowl- perception by newcomers and denizens we used a mental mapping approach with edge. It is a typical example of a new resident who spends most of her time in unlimited instructions about how to draw a mental map. We also discussed and Olomouc and she perceives the municipality only as “a place for sleeping”. An reected the researched mental maps through the conceptual approaches of opposite example is a map sketched by a representative (Figure 4) who often works Lynch, Appleyard or Tuan. 52 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 53 eventually primary school (in Dolany and Velký Týnec), roundabout or square (in with land-use plan, so he views the municipality from a wider perspective. Dolany), railway station (in Hlušovice), or chateau and cinema (in Velký Týnec). According to his answer he also actively participated in the collective life in the According to Lynch's conception (1960), these components are dominants which municipality. Another 19-year-old man from Hlušovice, even though immigrated make the suburban space more legible for the local inhabitants and contribute to there 6 years ago, was integrated in the collective life in the municipality as well. He produce the “image” of the suburban municipality. The partial elements of the spent a lot of time in Hlušovice and knew its places very well, because he played mental maps are then connected by paths – roads that served to the informants as a football for the local club, as you can see in Figure 2. Therefore, the ability to use means of navigation owing to which they were able to localise point elements in the the scale properly can be one of the signs of knowledge of this environment and map. There are some important nodes (like roundabout in Dolany) that help active involvement (operative perception, see Appleyard 1974), however, the people to orientate themselves in the process of sketching mental map too. character of mental maps can be inuenced by the relation to the municipality and The creation of the mental maps usually began in the middle of the municipality place of living (topophilia, see Tuan 1974). (e.g. starting with the village square, municipal ofce building, church or round- Mental mapping in the selected suburban municipalities put an emphasis on about) or from their own house and then it was further drawn along the roads. delineation of the barriers between formerly built-up area and new residential According to Appleyard (1973) that was sequential mental mapping rather than neighbourhoods. One of the analysed mental maps specically concentrates on spatial, however, with an emphasis on positional placing of important elements. the spatial relation between the old and new part of the municipality. There is a Thus, after the rst picture or schema of their house or landmark in the centre of perception of the suburb surrounding the old built-up area of the municipality. suburban municipality, the informants usually sketched the roads and then Although other informants often depicted suburb as a specic district of the localized the other important spatial components into the mental maps. As regards municipality (especially in Dolany and Křelov-Břuchotín), they did not explicitly the importance of depicted elements in the eyes of local inhabitants, the outputs of speak about spatial separation, however, underlining neither barriers nor bound- the additional questions show the informants perceive the elements of infrastruc- aries. It means that social-spatial barriers between both parts of suburban munici- ture and public facilities of the municipality to be important for their everyday palities exist but they are not so signicant and often articially created in the eyes lives. Although, according to interviews, they do not often go shopping in the local of local inhabitants. shop or they do not use local railway station to go by train, these elements play an The suburbanization process in the hinterland of Olomouc has not been so important role in the spatial orientation. However, there are some elements or dynamically developed like in the surroundings of more populated cities (like areas in the mental maps which function as both navigation points as well as Prague or Brno hinterland in the Czech Republic). The various social- community interaction elds where the people really meet with each other such as demographic and geographic background of new residents also wipes out the the village square (see e.g. Galčanová and Vacková 2008). differences in the perception of suburbs which can be seen in more typical cases of By comparing the sketches to real maps of the municipalities we can also prove the residential suburbanisation (with signs of gated communities or another that informants, both denizens and new residents, are well acquainted with the spatial separation). The mental maps also show that most informants perceive space in their municipality and with its landmarks. Although these mental maps are their house, place of living or, generally, 'social-geographical environment' as distorted and incomplete (see Downs and Stea 1973), they show solid geographical important. They consider suburban municipalities suitable for the upbringing of knowledge and spatial orientation of the informants. The informants had the children and the possibility to spend time outdoors as a relevant factor for their biggest problem with the accuracy of distances and scale, especially in the larger quality of life. Nevertheless, the interpretation of social-spatial dynamics of the municipalities. In total 25 mental maps there are only a few specic cases which suburban municipalities through mental mapping is more difcult. It would be show insufcient spatial knowledge of newcomers. On the contrary, in some cases better to evaluate and reect this process using the same methods after a few years, (e.g. in Hlušovice) the new residents knew the spatial disposition of the whole because then, for instance, we can compare the transformation of the new resi- municipality even better than the denizens, because of their lack of interest to visit dents' relationship to their place of living, their sense of orientation etc. new neighbourhoods that only have residential function. The outputs also proved there is no statistically signicant difference in the way of perception and sketching of mental maps according to gender, age, or social status. There are only a few cases Conclusion of differences in which, for instance, some women depicted kindergartens or clubs for young women and, on the other hand, some men sketched the football pitches The primary aim of the article was to look at the suburban environment by means which were not located in women's mental maps (e.g. McDowell 1992). of mental mapping and, secondarily, to present the results from mental maps However, some mental maps show anomalies. For example, just a simple sketched in suburban municipalities in the hinterland of Olomouc. In order to picture of a house is the most specic one in which the informant who does not analyse spatial attributes of the suburban municipalities and to interpret their spend time in the municipality suggestively depicted her limited spatial knowl- perception by newcomers and denizens we used a mental mapping approach with edge. It is a typical example of a new resident who spends most of her time in unlimited instructions about how to draw a mental map. We also discussed and Olomouc and she perceives the municipality only as “a place for sleeping”. An reected the researched mental maps through the conceptual approaches of opposite example is a map sketched by a representative (Figure 4) who often works Lynch, Appleyard or Tuan. 54 J. Biolek & I. Andráško Investigating suburban environment 55

The outputs of this research prove that local inhabitants are usually well regionálních struktur ČR a SR. Brno (Ústav geoniky AV ČR), pp. 5-11. acquainted with the space of the municipality and with the localisation of the Biolek, J & Andráško, I 2013, 'Geograe a umení: Site-specic art v akcích Kateriny Šedé', in elements of infrastructure and public facilities. These landmarks also create H Svobodová (ed), Nové výzvy pro geograi: Sborník výroční konference České geogracké “image” of the suburban municipality in the eyes of local inhabitants. Slight společnosti, Masarykova univerzita, Brno, pp. 142-151. Ciobanu, Cr 2008, 'The Mental Map of Neighbourhoods in Bucharest Introductive Study of differences can be seen in the perception of the municipality by denizens and new Mental Geography', Human Geographies - Journal of Studies and Research in Human immigrants. However, even though the new built-up areas were spatially delin- Geography, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 25-34. eated, we cannot speak about geographical separation or social exclusion. It is Cloke, P, Cook, I, Crang, P, Goodwin, M, Painter, J & Philo C 2004, Practising Human rather a construct that the inhabitants themselves exaggerate by means of narra- Geography, SAGE Publications, London. tives. There were also no signicant differences in the mental maps according to Couch, C, Petschel-Held, G & Leontidou, L 2007, Urban sprawl in Europe. Landscapes, Land- informants' age, gender or social status. The character of the mental maps and Use Change and Policy, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. informants' knowledge of the suburban municipalities and their attributes Danek, P 2013, Geogracké myšlení: úvod do teoretických prístupu, Masarykova univerzita, Brno. depends on how much time they spend there, whether they participate in the Downs, RM & Stea, D 1973, 'Cognitive mapping and spatial behavior: Process and products', collective life or use a map of the municipality and, of course, what their relation to in RM Downs & D Stea (eds), Image and environment: Cognitive mapping and spatial behavior, E. Arnold Publishing, London, pp. 8-26. place of living is. It is thus possible to read the information from mental maps both EEA 2006, Urban sprawl in Europe: The ignored challenge, European Environment Agency, about the suburban municipality and its visual, functional and aesthetic properties Copenhagen. as well as about the informant himself or herself, about his or her knowledge of the Fishman, R 1989, Bourgeois Utopias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia, Basic Books, New York. environment and the ability to depict geographical connections and relation to the Galčanová, L & Vacková, B 2008, 'Rezidenční suburbanizace v postkomunistické České place of living. Nevertheless, the outputs did not much reect the social-spatial republice, její koreny, tradice a současnost', IVRIS Papers, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 1-23. dynamic of the suburban development which can be evaluated after few years by Galčanová, L 2013, 'Svoboda, soukromí a bezpečí: nové hraniční prostory v naracích the same methods. obyvatel vybraných brnnských predmestí', in M Ouredníček, P Špačková & J Novák The researched mental maps are characterized by signicant schematization, (eds), Suburbs: Krajina, sídla a lidé, Academia, Praha, pp. 200-233. incompleteness or distortion. On the other hand, the informants are not limited by Golledge, RG & Stimson, RJ 1997, Spatial behaviour: a geographic perspective, Guilford Press, New York. anything during the creative processes of drawing the mental map and they can Gould, P & White, R 1986, Mental Maps, 2nd edn., Routledge, London. freely approach the depiction which unveils a lot of facts that would remain hidden Hancox, S 2012, 'Contemporary Walking Practices and the Situationist International: The if a different methodology was used. However, we should remind constraints of this Politics of Preambulating the Boundaries Between Art and Life', Contemporary Theatre approach within which is difcult to exactly explain data. In our opinion such Review, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 1-17. approach, in spite of some methodological drawbacks, offers the potential of Harris, R & Larkham, PJ 1999, Changing Suburbs. Foundation, Form and Function, Routledge, development when applied not only in the suburban environment. London. Hawkins, H 2011, 'Dialogies and Doings: Sketching the Relationships between Geography and Art', Geograph Compass, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 464-478. Notes Jackson, KT 1985, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Johnston RJ, 1971, 'Mental maps of the city: suburban preference patterns', Environment and The research study was funded by the project of the Czech Science Foundation: Planning, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 63-72. “Urban and suburban quality of life: a geographical perspective” (P404/11/1811). Knox, P & Pinch, S 2010, Urban social geography: an introduction, 6th edn, Pearson Education The authors are grateful for this support. Ltd, London. Kok, H 1999, 'Migration from the city to the countryside in Hungary and Poland', Geojournal, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 53-62. References Krisjane Z & Berzins, M 2012, 'Post-socialist urban trends: new patterns and motivations for migration in the suburban areas of Riga, Latvia', Urban Studies, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 289 –306. Andráško, I, Soukalová, L & Šuška, P 2011, 'Obraz miesta - realitný imidž verzus reálny stav', Ley, D 1974, The Black Inner City as a Frontier Post, Association of American Geographers, in I Andráško, V Ira & E Kallabová (eds), Časovo-priestorové aspekty regionálnych štruktúr ČR a Washington, DC. SR, Geogracký ústav SAV, Bratislava, pp. 5-11. Lynch, K 1960, The image of the city, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. Appleyard, D 1973, 'Notes on urban perception and knowledge', in RM Downs & D Stea, McDowell, L 1992, 'Doing gender: feminisms, feminists and research methods in human (eds), Image and environment: Cognitive mapping and spatial behaviour, E. Arnold Publishers, geography', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, vol. 17, pp. 399-416. London, pp. 109-114. 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The outputs of this research prove that local inhabitants are usually well regionálních struktur ČR a SR. Brno (Ústav geoniky AV ČR), pp. 5-11. acquainted with the space of the municipality and with the localisation of the Biolek, J & Andráško, I 2013, 'Geograe a umení: Site-specic art v akcích Kateriny Šedé', in elements of infrastructure and public facilities. These landmarks also create H Svobodová (ed), Nové výzvy pro geograi: Sborník výroční konference České geogracké “image” of the suburban municipality in the eyes of local inhabitants. Slight společnosti, Masarykova univerzita, Brno, pp. 142-151. Ciobanu, Cr 2008, 'The Mental Map of Neighbourhoods in Bucharest Introductive Study of differences can be seen in the perception of the municipality by denizens and new Mental Geography', Human Geographies - Journal of Studies and Research in Human immigrants. However, even though the new built-up areas were spatially delin- Geography, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 25-34. eated, we cannot speak about geographical separation or social exclusion. It is Cloke, P, Cook, I, Crang, P, Goodwin, M, Painter, J & Philo C 2004, Practising Human rather a construct that the inhabitants themselves exaggerate by means of narra- Geography, SAGE Publications, London. tives. There were also no signicant differences in the mental maps according to Couch, C, Petschel-Held, G & Leontidou, L 2007, Urban sprawl in Europe. Landscapes, Land- informants' age, gender or social status. The character of the mental maps and Use Change and Policy, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. informants' knowledge of the suburban municipalities and their attributes Danek, P 2013, Geogracké myšlení: úvod do teoretických prístupu, Masarykova univerzita, Brno. depends on how much time they spend there, whether they participate in the Downs, RM & Stea, D 1973, 'Cognitive mapping and spatial behavior: Process and products', collective life or use a map of the municipality and, of course, what their relation to in RM Downs & D Stea (eds), Image and environment: Cognitive mapping and spatial behavior, E. Arnold Publishing, London, pp. 8-26. place of living is. It is thus possible to read the information from mental maps both EEA 2006, Urban sprawl in Europe: The ignored challenge, European Environment Agency, about the suburban municipality and its visual, functional and aesthetic properties Copenhagen. as well as about the informant himself or herself, about his or her knowledge of the Fishman, R 1989, Bourgeois Utopias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia, Basic Books, New York. environment and the ability to depict geographical connections and relation to the Galčanová, L & Vacková, B 2008, 'Rezidenční suburbanizace v postkomunistické České place of living. Nevertheless, the outputs did not much reect the social-spatial republice, její koreny, tradice a současnost', IVRIS Papers, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 1-23. dynamic of the suburban development which can be evaluated after few years by Galčanová, L 2013, 'Svoboda, soukromí a bezpečí: nové hraniční prostory v naracích the same methods. obyvatel vybraných brnnských predmestí', in M Ouredníček, P Špačková & J Novák The researched mental maps are characterized by signicant schematization, (eds), Suburbs: Krajina, sídla a lidé, Academia, Praha, pp. 200-233. incompleteness or distortion. On the other hand, the informants are not limited by Golledge, RG & Stimson, RJ 1997, Spatial behaviour: a geographic perspective, Guilford Press, New York. anything during the creative processes of drawing the mental map and they can Gould, P & White, R 1986, Mental Maps, 2nd edn., Routledge, London. freely approach the depiction which unveils a lot of facts that would remain hidden Hancox, S 2012, 'Contemporary Walking Practices and the Situationist International: The if a different methodology was used. However, we should remind constraints of this Politics of Preambulating the Boundaries Between Art and Life', Contemporary Theatre approach within which is difcult to exactly explain data. In our opinion such Review, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 1-17. approach, in spite of some methodological drawbacks, offers the potential of Harris, R & Larkham, PJ 1999, Changing Suburbs. Foundation, Form and Function, Routledge, development when applied not only in the suburban environment. London. Hawkins, H 2011, 'Dialogies and Doings: Sketching the Relationships between Geography and Art', Geograph Compass, vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 464-478. Notes Jackson, KT 1985, Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Johnston RJ, 1971, 'Mental maps of the city: suburban preference patterns', Environment and The research study was funded by the project of the Czech Science Foundation: Planning, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 63-72. “Urban and suburban quality of life: a geographical perspective” (P404/11/1811). Knox, P & Pinch, S 2010, Urban social geography: an introduction, 6th edn, Pearson Education The authors are grateful for this support. Ltd, London. Kok, H 1999, 'Migration from the city to the countryside in Hungary and Poland', Geojournal, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 53-62. 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